the energy department released a study last month giving an implicit nod to natural gas exports. i think that could compel congress to really look at this issue. this law governing natural gas exports hasn't been updated since 1938. whether or not congress has the political will to change it remains to be seen but it's certainly going to be part of the conversation. >> you also write about the european financial crisis. i would think it's fair to say 2012 was a horrible, terrible, very bad year for the european economy. but what could that mean to us here? >> right. i think the fiscal cliff of the past month has really allowed a lot of people and especially those in congress to forget that there's a big world out there where economies are not doing so well either. there's been a couple of economists, some of the big economic firms like deutsche bank and others who say, quote, we don't want to have a false sense of security about how europe is doing. i think as we have to somewhat of a degree put off the fiscal cliff, i think europe's woes are going to back to the forefront of con